half a verse
by whizz
Summary: leon/cloud; friends with benefits, minus the friends. and the girls will absolutely make sure that it turns into the good kind of benefits.


**game; **Kingdom Hearts  
**pairing; **Leon/Cloud  
**warnings; **hints of shonen-ai which might turn into full-fledged yaoi.. mehhe**  
disclaimer; **I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters used.

It was going a tad too far, saying that Leon and Cloud were friends. They're not. And they did not attempt to keep it secret, either.

"But _Lee-awwhn_!", some of the hyper, sugar-addicted, self-proclaimed Great Ninja's (also known as one of many sources keeping Leon from living a peaceful, quiet life) would whine, "you are _so _friends! Cloud is the only one you can actually stand to be around for more than five minutes without dying of a headache!"

Leon would, quite predictably, raise a deliberate, unimpressed eyebrow; complete with the blank look and all. The words _so you're basically saying I die every hour of the day, usually? _would stay unspoken but all too implied, to which Yuffie would stick her tongue out and whine some more before stomping off to pester someone else.

"Oh, _Cloud_", some of the pink-clad, constantly worrying mother-hen's (also known as one of the sources that had, lately, become the main object of Cloud's usual avoiding-treatment) would tut, "don't be like that. It's _positive _that you've made friends with Leon - you both could use it, you know!" 

Cloud would, quite predictable, grind out an irritated 'hn' in protest, before slipping out the door or, alternatively, proceed with ignoring the girl until she would sigh, pat him on the shoulder with a look so understanding it left a bitter taste in his mouth and move swiftly to the kitchen.

"He's _not _my friend", they would insist (that is, on the few occasions when they actually cared to speak an entire sentence), as the main people in their circle of so-called 'friends' would roll their eyes and _tsk, _saying stuff like "you don't have to lie to _us_" and "really, we're just _glad _you are".

Both men soon came to realize, sharp-minded as they were, that there was no point in arguing - and so they simply went back to their old routines, deciding not to give a damn, since they knew how it really was, anyway.

.

.

.

See, _friendship_ was something rusty and spider web-covered, left forgotten in some dusty corner of their minds; a package that came with a load of painful memories and old scars torn anew.

The fact that they appreciated each other's silence did not suggest anything other than merely that - at least they could _pretend _to enjoy one another's company while hiding away from the girls who thought it _great _to see they were making such progress in their socializing skills and, therefore, would leave them alone as much as possible.

Which suited both men fine - Leon would lean his back against nearest wall or item of appropriate height, arms crossed and eyes closed, Gunblade at a comfortable distance (meaning, within reach) while Cloud would stuff his ever-twitching hands (a result of the temporary withdrawal of his ever-faithful sword - because really, that thing was damn too flashy to carry around in day light, according to Yuffie) into his pockets, head tipped backwards and eyes intently focused on the wide sky.

It was nice. Not perfect, not entirely serene; the lack of trust still hung as an unsure thread, ready to burst at first given opportunity - but it was better than being reminded of once-upon-a-world's because of familiar faces or being exposed to the constant unnervingly happy and loud atmosphere.

For now, the sun shone brightly and it was enough to reach beneath scarred, tanned skin and at least _scrape _a little at the ice-shield around each man's heart (that they would never admit having).

And it really was.. nice.

.

.

. 

It was yet another morning of all mornings that had gone by and all mornings yet to come in Aerith's cosy little kitchen with the familiar wooden panels and flower-decorated curtains.

Leon had, as usual, finished breakfast too quickly and not eaten nearly as much as Aerith would like him to before he went for the door; ready to start a new day of as much work as he could possibly fit in.

Cloud came through the kitchen doorway in that exact moment, and the brunet actually gave a brief nod to him - to which Cloud answered with a barely audible grunt - before he was gone.

The solemn blonde took his usual seat at the table, reaching towards the milk carton that was left forgotten in Yuffie's suddenly slack grip as she stared at him, eyes double in size and mouth hanging agape, giving a quite thorough view of the pancakes she had consumed for breakfast.

".._What_?" Cloud eventually asked, face dead.

"Oh", Yuffie breathed, "my", here, she put the carton on the table with an absent _thunk, _"GOD!"

Aerith, who had been standing with her back towards the scene as she stuffed some ingredients away, turned.

"What is it, Yuffie?" she asked, smiling.

"Cloud and Leon are _so _doing each other." the ninja exclaimed, breathless and starry-eyed.

Cloud's facial color changed so fast it would have been humorous during other circumstances.

Yuffie didn't even dare to glance at the blonde for the rest of the day, and when Leon asked out loud what was wrong, he earned a horrified look crossing the unusually pale ninja's face, and a careless shrug from Cloud.

.

.

.

Leon caught himself relishing more in the fact that he could share such a long, needed moment of silence in the blonde swordsman's company; he caught himself.. not respecting, not yet, but cherishing the fact that Cloud could understand such a silence.

His peaceful and oh-so-rational thoughts, however, were severely questioned when he caught himself actually letting his guard slip during their next sneak-away-session; and it kind of terrified him, so he suspiciously eyed the blonde man who was busy staring at the sky with his back turned towards Leon and let his gloved fingers glide reassuringly against the hilt of his blade momentarily - just to get the point (what point?) across.

.

.

.

"Hey, Tif, noticed anything special about Cloud lately?"

"Why?" the black-haired girl's eyes flashed, "have you seen him? Where is he?"

"I.. no, no, I haven't!" Yuffie replied instantly, leaning away from the bar disk.

"..Oh." Tifa stated, before turning away to polish a wine glass in obvious disinterest. "No, I can't really say I've noticed anything out of the ordinary. Why?"

"Well.." Yuffie drawled. Since the girl was Cloud's childhood friend, she had at least expected her to be a little better at reading the blonde's emotions than Aerith. "You haven't noticed he's been hanging out with Leon lately?"

"Oh, that. If you call sitting next to each other without speaking a word 'hanging out'.." she giggled, "then sure. It's progress, though, right?"

"Yeah.." Yuffie muttered. Perhaps she was merely imagining things again.

.

.

.

"Spar?" the words were low, and had it not been for Cloud's intensified human senses caused by the mako mingling with his blood, he may not have heard it. He craned his neck just a little, seeing the unmoving blur of Leonhart behind his shoulder.

It would be a lie to claim that he liked the deadly calm aura of the other - although it was a lot less irritable than the cheer squad back in the HQ. Besides Leonhart's laid-back posture, stoic voice and intimidating scar, there were the eyes. They were completely dead; a bottomless grey-scale, complete blankness.

He considered the offer for a moment, and then he wondered why they hadn't thought of that before, with all this new free time that neither knew what to do with - Leon desperately wanted to go back to rebuilding, while Cloud wanted to train to become strong enough to defeat his inner darkness. And, well, the inhabitants wanted - no, _insisted _they 'took a break'. Go figure.

Leon was, Cloud realized, the only one who could offer some challenge here.

"Sure", he replied, the moment of hesitation coming out as calculated observing of the opponent instead, (he hoped).

.

. 

.

"OH EM-"

Aerith quickly clasped a small hand across Yuffie's still-moving mouth, now forming muffled sounds of protest.

"Ssch!" the girl with braided hair insisted, "they haven't noticed us yet."

She pulled the dark-haired girl further down the sidewalk, now hidden and peeking out from behind the stone wall on the corner of what seemed to be Leon's and Cloud's new training place.

Their movements were equally impressive; Cloud moved with an admirable speed for swinging such a huge weapon, each blow making the steel resound with the insane force that lay behind it, but Leon was far more flexible and quick, going for swift but powerful attacks - it was like a practised choreography, their movements matching and fluid as they met and parted on their make-believe battlefield.

Yuffie downright _stared, _mesmerized by the scene in front of her, while Aerith smiled knowingly.

"We should go", she stated.

"But.. I've never seen anything so beautiful!" Yuffie weeped.

.

.

.

He was actually quite impressive, Cloud thought, scoffing to himself, a tang of undeniable bitterness laced with that confession.

Of course Cloud had expected him to be good - he _was _the leader of the Restoration Committée, after all, strong and brave and idolized and appreciated, the burden of the entire town on his broad shoulders.

Cloud had, however, not expected to be left seriously panting for breath, his fair skin flushed because of the efforts behind every single thought-through step he had to take, bringing Buster up and down and up again, pure instinct guiding him as he matched Leon's approaches - it was refreshing, really.

He could see the effects their little sparring session had on the other man, too, mind you - his eyes were slightly unfocused, adrenaline shooting like fireworks across a stormy sky, and Cloud did manage to catch sight of one or two stray sweat beads too, trailing down tanned skin.

It ended with the sun setting, splashing warm hues all over the cloud-less sky, and with them coming to a heavily breathing halt upon realizing they should have parted hours ago in order to proceed with their daily routines (such as rebuilding and sulking among other things).

The girls, however, were thrilled, and wouldn't even let Leon make up for his time lost - "you deserved a break, anyhow, what with working over-hours and all", they insisted, eyes shining.

Before Cloud retreated to his room in order to change and then perhaps hit the gym (his muscles would be sore in the morning either way), he was pulled into electric eye contact with the Gunblade-wielder coming down the stairs, clad in leather pants and nothing else, hair dripping wet from a recent shower.

Leon merely nodded before brushing past the blonde, just as usual - except for, it wasn't just as usual. Despite his nonchalant body language, there was something different; his eyes were just as stormy as during the previous battle, wild and unpredictable and dangerously vivid despite the colorless irises.

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**A/N; **just a small collection of moments, huh. like i have nothing better to do (i don't). i'm thinking of adding another chapter where they take their relationship one or five steps further, hehe. tell me what you think! 


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